Honestly, it's about time that the rest of the team carried Calvin Johnson for once

Complete and utter bullshit. Calvin got PAID! That's how the team is "carrying" him. He got a huge contract after a big year, and now he's dropping passes he was catching last season. Sorry, but that's not the sign of a HOFer or an elite player. That's a sign that he is typical of others before him.....play lights out in your contract year, and then play with a lack of urgency after you ink the deal.

Calvin has to start showing that last year wasn't a fluke for him, no different than Stafford has the same thing to prove. Difference is, Stafford didn't get the lofty deal Calvin did in the off-season.

Whoa there. Calvin's been playing lights-out since his second year in the league. To imply he simply turned it on in a contract year is nonsense. Especially since he was already under contract for 2012, so 2011 wasn't a contract year to begin with.

We've all seen him drop some passes he usually catches but let's not exaggerate--he's still on pace for 1500 yards or so. Most WRs never have a season as good as that. Sure, we expect more of Calvin but even when he's bad, he's better than most.

this is no different than the nonsense he was posting in the Avril threads leading up to the season.

October 29th, 2012, 10:49 am

m2karateman

RIP Killer

Joined: October 20th, 2004, 4:16 pmPosts: 10408Location: Where ever I'm at now

Re: GAME DAY THREAD: Lions vs. Seahawks

So, what everyone is saying that it's OK for Calvin to have an off-year? We can just say 'well, he's been good before, so he deserves a break'. Nevermind that he just got a fat contract for $132M. Nevermind that he has but one TD catch in seven games.

It's easy to look past his drops yesterday because of the win. What if they had lost? Would all of you be so easily forgiving? Calvin, like every other member of the offense, gets paid to produce points, not yards. And when he has a chance to catch a TD pass, it has to happen. With so few opportunities coming his way like what we saw yesterday, I find it hard to believe he missed that one. He was wide open. The pass could have been better, but he normally comes down with that. And bringing Avril into the discussion is just a dumb move. He's on pace for 9 or 10 sacks this season. I don't think that's worth $10.6M for this year. Guys making far less are producing more.

If you want to give Calvin a free pass for what he's done in the past, so be it. We should do the same for every player then.

Look...I know Calvin is an incredible talent, and that he's a huge benefit to the offense even when he's not catching the ball. However, that has nothing to do with the fact that THIS SEASON he has looked more pedestrian. Part of that issue is related to Stafford not really looking that good (except for yesterday). And I'm not saying Calvin will always have bad games like yesterday, or that he won't breakout later this season. But there are no guarantees he will. What I know is, he's only scored 9 times in the last 17 games guys. I don't consider that to be tremedous production from our best scoring threat. Is his signing the big deal in the off-season a coincidence? Probably. But I'm not going to look past that, because other really good players have had the same sort of issue after having a big year and signing a lucrative deal.

_________________I will not put on blinders when it comes to our QBs performances.

October 29th, 2012, 1:08 pm

Pablo

RIP Killer

Joined: August 6th, 2004, 9:21 amPosts: 10024Location: Dallas

Re: GAME DAY THREAD: Lions vs. Seahawks

Hey, we got a win - let's focus on the positives. Staff looked like his 2011 version instead of the 2012 version. Titus played like a 2nd round pick (and caught all 9 passes thrown his way by my count). Our special teams played OK.

The Lions got the ball down three with over 5 minutes remaining. The were patient and took what the defense gave them. Every pass I remember was over the middle as they ate up over 5 minutes. They did not settle for the FG, but rather got the win with 20 seconds left and looked pretty much in control doing it against a decent Seahawks D. They didn't force feed it to CJ, but spread it out nicely.

The play of the OL hasn't got much attn but it has been solid. The announcers seemed to have a lot of Sims, but Gos continues to play well.

In addition, a lot of the teams in the NFC lost that the Lions could compete with for a wildcard spot. Plus we have the one-win Jags up next.

Honestly, it's about time that the rest of the team carried Calvin Johnson for once

Complete and utter bullshit. Calvin got PAID! That's how the team is "carrying" him. He got a huge contract after a big year, and now he's dropping passes he was catching last season. Sorry, but that's not the sign of a HOFer or an elite player. That's a sign that he is typical of others before him.....play lights out in your contract year, and then play with a lack of urgency after you ink the deal.

Calvin has to start showing that last year wasn't a fluke for him, no different than Stafford has the same thing to prove. Difference is, Stafford didn't get the lofty deal Calvin did in the off-season.

Aside from a couple drops, Calvin is having a pretty good year. CJ will be fine, I doubt that he got paid and said (I'm gonna just start dropping passes). calm down dude

_________________Just one Super Bowl win before I go!

October 29th, 2012, 2:13 pm

Killwill25

Rookie Player of the Year

Joined: March 5th, 2009, 8:42 pmPosts: 2422Location: Brooklyn, NY

Re: GAME DAY THREAD: Lions vs. Seahawks

The Legend wrote:

m2karateman wrote:

Killwill25 wrote:

Honestly, it's about time that the rest of the team carried Calvin Johnson for once

Complete and utter bullshit. Calvin got PAID! That's how the team is "carrying" him. He got a huge contract after a big year, and now he's dropping passes he was catching last season. Sorry, but that's not the sign of a HOFer or an elite player. That's a sign that he is typical of others before him.....play lights out in your contract year, and then play with a lack of urgency after you ink the deal.

Calvin has to start showing that last year wasn't a fluke for him, no different than Stafford has the same thing to prove. Difference is, Stafford didn't get the lofty deal Calvin did in the off-season.

a lot of bark, not a lot of bite. very few people can actually take this post seriously. yeah, calvin dropped a few passes in the last 7 days but he s still on pace for 1400 yards receiving and its a matter of time before he gets the TDs again. this offense just took a major step forward and with the attention that Calvin received he was a huge part of it. I doubt Titus Young and Pettigrew torch that defense without Megatron on the field.

THANK YOU. CJ is a few TDs short but it's not like he's out there mailing it in

_________________Just one Super Bowl win before I go!

October 29th, 2012, 2:16 pm

wjb21ndtown

Re: GAME DAY THREAD: Lions vs. Seahawks

Killwill25 wrote:

The Legend wrote:

m2karateman wrote:

Killwill25 wrote:

Honestly, it's about time that the rest of the team carried Calvin Johnson for once

Complete and utter bullshit. Calvin got PAID! That's how the team is "carrying" him. He got a huge contract after a big year, and now he's dropping passes he was catching last season. Sorry, but that's not the sign of a HOFer or an elite player. That's a sign that he is typical of others before him.....play lights out in your contract year, and then play with a lack of urgency after you ink the deal.

Calvin has to start showing that last year wasn't a fluke for him, no different than Stafford has the same thing to prove. Difference is, Stafford didn't get the lofty deal Calvin did in the off-season.

a lot of bark, not a lot of bite. very few people can actually take this post seriously. yeah, calvin dropped a few passes in the last 7 days but he s still on pace for 1400 yards receiving and its a matter of time before he gets the TDs again. this offense just took a major step forward and with the attention that Calvin received he was a huge part of it. I doubt Titus Young and Pettigrew torch that defense without Megatron on the field.

THANK YOU. CJ is a few TDs short but it's not like he's out there mailing it in

I disagree... His body language and effort suggest otherwise. Hopefully last weeks win will help him get back on track, but I don't think he's been putting in a solid effort and I don't think his mind is in it. He seems to lack concentration and effort, and he looks slow out there.

October 29th, 2012, 2:25 pm

kdsberman

League MVP

Joined: February 20th, 2007, 10:51 pmPosts: 3527Location: Saginaw, MI

Re: GAME DAY THREAD: Lions vs. Seahawks

m2karateman wrote:

Killwill25 wrote:

Honestly, it's about time that the rest of the team carried Calvin Johnson for once

Complete and utter bullshit. Calvin got PAID! That's how the team is "carrying" him. He got a huge contract after a big year, and now he's dropping passes he was catching last season. Sorry, but that's not the sign of a HOFer or an elite player. That's a sign that he is typical of others before him.....play lights out in your contract year, and then play with a lack of urgency after you ink the deal.

Calvin has to start showing that last year wasn't a fluke for him, no different than Stafford has the same thing to prove. Difference is, Stafford didn't get the lofty deal Calvin did in the off-season.

So, what everyone is saying that it's OK for Calvin to have an off-year? We can just say 'well, he's been good before, so he deserves a break'. Nevermind that he just got a fat contract for $132M. Nevermind that he has but one TD catch in seven games.

It's easy to look past his drops yesterday because of the win. What if they had lost? Would all of you be so easily forgiving? Calvin, like every other member of the offense, gets paid to produce points, not yards. And when he has a chance to catch a TD pass, it has to happen. With so few opportunities coming his way like what we saw yesterday, I find it hard to believe he missed that one. He was wide open. The pass could have been better, but he normally comes down with that. And bringing Avril into the discussion is just a dumb move. He's on pace for 9 or 10 sacks this season. I don't think that's worth $10.6M for this year. Guys making far less are producing more.

If you want to give Calvin a free pass for what he's done in the past, so be it. We should do the same for every player then.

Look...I know Calvin is an incredible talent, and that he's a huge benefit to the offense even when he's not catching the ball. However, that has nothing to do with the fact that THIS SEASON he has looked more pedestrian. Part of that issue is related to Stafford not really looking that good (except for yesterday). And I'm not saying Calvin will always have bad games like yesterday, or that he won't breakout later this season. But there are no guarantees he will. What I know is, he's only scored 9 times in the last 17 games guys. I don't consider that to be tremedous production from our best scoring threat. Is his signing the big deal in the off-season a coincidence? Probably. But I'm not going to look past that, because other really good players have had the same sort of issue after having a big year and signing a lucrative deal.

Nobody has said that Calvin deserves a "pass" because of what he's done in the past. You said he looks like "trash," in spite of the fact that he's on pace for 1500 yards this year. Even if you want to back off the word "trash" and call his season "pedestrian," it's still an exaggeration: 91.1 yds/game is not pedestrian (that ranks him #5 in the league).

Yes, everyone sees that he's dropped a few passes that he usually catches. But let's not go overboard with the criticism. Most players in the league would kill to average 91.1 yds/game.

_________________Proud member of the Contract Extension for Schwartz Fan Club.

October 29th, 2012, 2:59 pm

m2karateman

RIP Killer

Joined: October 20th, 2004, 4:16 pmPosts: 10408Location: Where ever I'm at now

Re: GAME DAY THREAD: Lions vs. Seahawks

mwill2 wrote:

Yes, everyone sees that he's dropped a few passes that he usually catches. But let's not go overboard with the criticism. Most players in the league would kill to average 91.1 yds/game.

And how many of them would kill to have 1 TD catch in 7 games? How many of them are getting paid like him?

Tell me, honestly, does Calvin look the same this year as he did in 2010 and 2011? I'm sorry, but he doesn't look like it to me. Perhaps it is injury related. Perhaps it's more Stafford then him. But yards DON'T win freakin' games. So, as I said before, his yards per game is a meaningless statistic. Stop throwing it out there.

And I'll put this out there as well. Great players find a way to score. Andre Johnson has sh!t for a QB for a long time, and NOBODY playing opposite him, and he found ways to score. Roddy White has nobody until Julio Jones got there and started playing up to his potential, but Roddy still got in the end zone. The list goes on. Great players find a way, regardless of who their QB is, or who is lining up on the other side.

I said in previous posts that part of the blame goes on Stafford, part of it on Linehan. Calvin isn't alone in this. But his continued pass dropping is just ridiculous. I expect that from Pettigrew. Calvin is another story.

_________________I will not put on blinders when it comes to our QBs performances.

Tell me, honestly, does Calvin look the same this year as he did in 2010 and 2011? I'm sorry, but he doesn't look like it to me.

This is the old "straw man" approach, in which you've invented a weak opposing viewpoint simply so you can knock it down to prove your point. Nobody said Calvin looks the same as before. Nobody said that receiving yardage equals wins.

I think we all see that Calvin has dropped passes we are accustomed to seeing him catch. Big deal. The Lions have much more significant problems than Calvin.

_________________Proud member of the Contract Extension for Schwartz Fan Club.

October 29th, 2012, 4:59 pm

m2karateman

RIP Killer

Joined: October 20th, 2004, 4:16 pmPosts: 10408Location: Where ever I'm at now

Re: GAME DAY THREAD: Lions vs. Seahawks

mwill2 wrote:

m2karateman wrote:

Tell me, honestly, does Calvin look the same this year as he did in 2010 and 2011? I'm sorry, but he doesn't look like it to me.

This is the old "straw man" approach, in which you've invented a weak opposing viewpoint simply so you can knock it down to prove your point. Nobody said Calvin looks the same as before. Nobody said that receiving yardage equals wins.

I think we all see that Calvin has dropped passes we are accustomed to seeing him catch. Big deal. The Lions have much more significant problems than Calvin.

I didn't invent anything. Answer the question. Does he look the same? Answer is no, nobody can deny that. As I said, perhaps it is injury related. Terry Foster said as much in his article today. I guess he has a lingering knee injury. OK. But that doesn't affect your hands. You say the Lions have more significant problems than Calvin? Like what? Their offense isn't scoring like they should....or at least they weren't before Sunday. Putting up 28 points against the Seahawks is a solid effort. Getting Calvin back in his Megatron form would make 28 points seem like nothing.

It's funny how people want to give Calvin a pass because he's a "superstar", but hold others on this team to task if they are perceived to not do their jobs. Bust the chops of Backus, bust the chops of Raiola, bust the chops of Peterman. Complain about anybody else but Calvin.

Sorry, I don't work that way. He's getting paid damn good money to produce results. The Lions offense has been struggling to score points this season, and he's a part of that problem.

_________________I will not put on blinders when it comes to our QBs performances.

October 29th, 2012, 8:34 pm

thelomasbrowns

Player of the Year - Offense

Joined: August 24th, 2010, 9:54 pmPosts: 2870

Re: GAME DAY THREAD: Lions vs. Seahawks

I just think that it's kind of ridiculous that the same people complaining about Calvin not catching enough TDs this week were the same people saying Staff was locking on to CJ too much in earlier weeks.

Look, it's a long season. Calvin had a couple of drops, but teams are also making a point of hitting him HARD when he's in a position to catch the ball. It's tough to fault him for not catching some of those balls. Now that our other receivers have apparently woken up, more opportunities will come Calvin's way and I'm sure he'll make the most of them.

_________________"Good teams don't worry about a whole lot of stuff. They travel, they play, they win. And it doesn't matter where they go, what the time block is, all those kinds of things. They never seem to bother teams that play well, and we want to be one of those teams." -Jim Caldwell

October 30th, 2012, 8:48 am

m2karateman

RIP Killer

Joined: October 20th, 2004, 4:16 pmPosts: 10408Location: Where ever I'm at now

Re: GAME DAY THREAD: Lions vs. Seahawks

thelomasbrowns wrote:

I just think that it's kind of ridiculous that the same people complaining about Calvin not catching enough TDs this week were the same people saying Staff was locking on to CJ too much in earlier weeks.

Look, it's a long season. Calvin had a couple of drops, but teams are also making a point of hitting him HARD when he's in a position to catch the ball. It's tough to fault him for not catching some of those balls. Now that our other receivers have apparently woken up, more opportunities will come Calvin's way and I'm sure he'll make the most of them.

No, it's not ridiculous. Stafford WAS locking onto CJ too much, and that was more than evident to anybody watching the early games. CJ not catching more TD passes isn't just his fault. It's partly due to Stafford and Linehan as well. But what is being pointed out is the drops for CJ. Also, he is not achieving separation downfield like he was last season, even with double coverage on him.

Some of the drops Calvin has had is when there is no one close to him. Against the Bears he dropped one and he was wide open. Against the 'hawks, the one he let slip through his hands in the end zone was when the defenders were in front of him, with no danger of a hit. And that's still a BS excuse, because Calvin was making those catches last season with defenders draped on him.

I'm not saying Calvin sucks, or he's done, or even that he's not giving full effort. I'm simply pointing out two OBVIOUS things, that could merely be coincidence, or could be tied together. First, that Calvin certainly isn't playing as well this season as he has the past couple seasons, and secondly that he just signed a pretty big contract.

You can come to your own conclusions.

_________________I will not put on blinders when it comes to our QBs performances.

October 30th, 2012, 9:00 am

hamma77

Heisman Winner

Joined: December 8th, 2008, 3:16 pmPosts: 785

Re: GAME DAY THREAD: Lions vs. Seahawks

The coverage on Calvin is frustrating him I believe...almost to the point where it's on his mind so much when one is thrown to him he just drops it. Gotta get him the ball more...Do reverses, maybe a screen play, more in the slot where he can get open and get short passes and take them the distance.

Like 75% of the plays this season he's had coverage where if it was thrown to him it'd probably be intercepted.

October 30th, 2012, 11:24 am

regularjoe12

Def. Coordinator – Teryl Austin

Joined: March 30th, 2006, 12:48 amPosts: 4211Location: Davison Mi

Re: GAME DAY THREAD: Lions vs. Seahawks

Titus just has to continue his growth progression. If he can have another game or two like last week, the coverage on Calvin will have to lighten up or teams will get burned by titus.

On a side note, never let it be said that I don't eat my crow publicly. I previously called the Broyles pick a luxury pick...turns out I was wrong. With Nate bing out we need him to perform like a 2nd round pick now.